giving books for the holidays is one thing i’ve always felt really good about. i mean, we all have so much stuff — but books, well they’re just timeless. i love giving books, just as much as receiving them, and this year i’m getting my wish, thanks to chronicle books.

we’re giving away to one very lucky winner all ten of these books i’ve selected from my favorites at chronicle. the idea behind this giveaway is a lovely one — we’d love for you to share the love of reading, support your local bookseller, and help promote literacy! For every person who pledges to #GiveBooks this holiday season, by sharing this intention through social media, Chronicle Books will donate a book to a child in need through First Book. so, please Help us donate 10,000 books by TAKING THE PLEDGE HERE.

• share with us below in the comments “What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?”

• please comment by thursday, november 27th, 12pm PST.

• as always, be sure to leave a way to reach you via twitter, facebook, email or your website.

• sorry, but this time the giveaway is for U.S. residents only.

• we’ll announce a winner selected by random number generator on my twitter account later in the week of december 1st, so be sure and follow along.

*in addition chronicle books is generously offering my readers 30% + free ground shipping (excluding personalized products) at chronicle books now through the end of the year with offer code GIVEBOOKS.

The best book gift I’ve ever received was “Under the Banner of Heaven” by John Krakauer – not only was it a fantastic read that I never would have found on my own, but it led me to Krakauer’s other books which were all equally compelling. I love when a book keeps on giving like that :)

My favorite book ever gifted to me was a Mediterranean cookbook a coworker picked up a used bookstore. He knew of our shared love for a variety of cuisines + I had just begun eating strictly vegetarian. The book has so much personality in my mind. I still cherish it.

My mother once gave me a two-volume set of Edmund Spenser’s The Fairy Queene, beautifully bound and illustrated with real drawings and watercolors. It is spectacular. I love books, my kids love books. They are the best.

The best book I ever received was from my fiance and it was a book called “You Are Special”. It’s a children’s book that I grew up reading and he saw me get excited about it in a bookstore we visited years later. He then gave it to me as a gift 2 week later. It was so sweet and showed how special HE was to me.

I usually buy my own books, but I got Devil Wears
prada Audio Book for my birthday one year and LOVED it. Another year I received a bunch of Philippa Gregory novels andcouldn’t put those bad boys down either. Great contest!!

the best book? that is really hard!!! I loved Outlander (by Diana Gabaldon) because it opened a new series of books and many hours of entertainment… and I loved a book of bread because I´ve tried almost all the recipes and loved all and each of them…

This is a tough one. But I think my favorite gifted book was a copy of the third book in the Harry Potter series, Prisoner of Azkaban! It was special because a long time ago my Aunt had kind of hi-jacked my copy and I would occasionally complain about it and my husband (bf at the time) sought out a new 1st edition copy to give me when I graduated from college! I wish I could show you a picture of how he wrapped it too…the man has got skills.

I love receiving vegan cookbooks as gifts! My best friend is vegan as well so it’s a common gift we share with each other. My favorite has to be Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. It has a little of everything to cover your bases!

my brother often gives me books for christmas, and i look forward to them every year! last year he gave me a collection of short stories by kurt vonnegut, one i’d never heard of before, and it has become my very favorite beach read.

My baby brother just got back from the UK and was kind enough to buy me new mysteries by John Harvey, Imogen Robertson, and Stav Sherez, which all have not been published in the US yet. Getting new (or used) books or even a requested book from the public library makes it feel like Christmas! :-)

For our first Christmas together, my boyfriend bought me the Julia Child set of, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. We were only dating four months at the time but I knew he knew me
Better than anyone else I had ever dated. He’s going to be my husband come 2016!

What a fantastic campaign! I know for a fact I would not be where I am today if my parents hadn’t provided me with so many books I wanted to read growing up. It truly contributed to my life in so many ways! Just took the pledge on all my social media platforms.

The best book I ever received was The Book Thief. Still my favorite book to this day. Marcus Zusak is a fantastic writer and it’s a touching story. And okay, I’ll admit it, I bawl every time.

Any of my cookbooks, I can’t pick just one! I love when I receive one as a gift that matches my personality and cooking style perfectly. They are such a personal item to pick out and it’s awesome when a friend gets it right and is paying attention to what makes you you :)

A friend coming for dinner brought us a beautifully wrapped, autographed copy of Michael Ruhlman’s Salumi. It was so extremely thoughtful of him as it fit our interested perfectly and we have enjoyed using it immensely.

I was interning at a branding company in Seattle and on the last day of my internship the creative team through a going away party for me. They gifted me with a copy of Andy Goldsworthy’s book, Arch. I was in heaven and blown away by their generosity.

This is such a great campaign! The gift of reading is so powerful! Go Chronical Books!
My absolute favorite book I’ve received was The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, from my uncle. It was years ago when I was in elementary school. I still love re-reading it to this day!

I collect nonfiction books about Arabian horses. My parents once gifted me one of the 1,500 leather-bound first edition copies of “The Abbas Pasha Manuscript: And Horses and Horsemen of Arabia and Egypt During the Time of Abbas Pasha 1800-1860” … signed by the authors. I also treasure the copy of “Black Beauty” that my (late) godparents gave to me when I was a little girl.

My dad, who’s not an avid reader, bought me the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It still remains one of my favorite books I’ve ever received. I even had my dad sign it so I could pass it on to my future children as a reminder for how to live a good and full life. Xx, Conni

The best book I was ever gifted would have to be a copy of “A Walk Across America” that once belonged to my grandmother. Full of memories (and an amazing story).
Wonderful giveaway. Long live print publishing!

The best book I received was actually a homemade book that my boyfriend created using pictures we took and included some of our favorite mementos. If I had to describe a book other people could purchase too, it would be In Focus: Edward Weston., who is one of my favorite photographers.

As an avid reader since childhood I receive books every year as gifts and each one of them is special….from coffee table books and cook books to novels, I have an anecdote for each one. The last one i received was an autographed novel by Susan Wiggs…I received it while on vacation at the beach and it was a perfect beach read.

What an amazing, beautiful collection of books in this giveaway! My heart literally skipped a beat when I saw the photo of the collection. The two best books I have been given are an autographed copy of David Mitchell’s “Back Story” (love him and his humour dearly) and Alice Water’s “The Art of Simple Food”. Fingers and toes crossed! :) My email is meerkate (at) gmail (dot) com.

The best book I received as a present was Nomad by Sibella Court. My daughter gifted me with the book and I never stopped admiring it.. I look at it when I want to escape my bleak, wintery surroundings.

As a book lover my whole life, I’ve always enjoyed receiving books as gifts, but I think my favorite are the cookbooks my mom has gotten me. I think the first cookbook she ever got me was the big red America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook – while not filled with the most exciting recipes ever, it’s got all the staples and hasn’t let me down yet.

The best book I received as a gift is “my sweet-orange tree”. My aunt gifted me when I was 11 years old and I believed reading that book has changed my life and opened my mind as a kid. I read it two years ago again and I enjoyed every moment it very much.

Last year I made the move to Oakland to 1) be able to afford rent on my own in my own place, 2) get to know a new part of the Bay Area that I’ve been wanting to explore more of. For a housewarming gift, my boyfriend bought me The Wes Anderson Collection, which is a coffee table book I’ve been wanting for a while. It’s massive, beautiful, and one of the best gifts (books) I’ve ever received.

One year for Xmas my husband downloaded a ton of books he had bought for me onto my kindle. There were a ton that he had searched out based on my interests: world war z, feminine mystique, etcetera. It was just so thoughtful.

When I was in college, one of my best friends gave me an old Bible from the 19th century, about the size and weight of a small car, with frayed binding, loose pages, and the most intricately designed leather cover I’d ever seen. It used to belong to a monastery (according to the inscription), and I still don’t know where he found it. At the time I was feeling insecure about our friendship, but the gift was so thoughtful and represented both of us incredibly well. It restored my hope in our friendship as it reminded me that I was both known and loved. More than a decade later, it’s still one of the most precious things I own.

the best gifted book I received was from my mother who purchased the first edition Art of Maurice Sendak when I was born and presented to me when I was 18. She use of known well that I would be a fan of his artwork even before I could realize it. I cherish to this day and giving it to my son when he turns 18.

The BEST book that I’ve ever received is the 1965 release of “Alice’s Adventures Undrrground” by Lewis Carroll. My sister gave it to me a couple months ago as a coming home present. It’s sentimental for a couple of reasons. 1) I have a collection of Lewis Carroll books that I started half my life ago. This one is a copy of his original manuscript of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and is self-illustrated. 2) I have a 1965 pick up AND a 1965 Falcon. 1965 is my year of choice…. she found my favorite book published in my favorite year!!!! I fangirled all over that book for WEEKS. So. Fantastic.

I received an out-of-the-blue gift copy of The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatly Snyder, which is out of print and hard to find. It was great because it was my favorite book as a kid, the book that turned me into a reader, and the copy was the exact edition I had when I was younger.

Every book I receive as a gift is special in its own right…I am always excited by a new read, regardless of the type, decor, design, or cooking! What a nice grouping of books!! I could really get into it!

I always ask for books. Mostly cookbooks because they are my great love (and addiction). I would probably say my set of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child.
It still brings me such happiness to pull it out and imagine her working a recipe for a sauce or mastering an egg dish perfectly. Love.

I interned for some lovely folks one summer during college, and at my send-off at the end of the summer before I spent a semester in France, my boss gave me a copy of Le Petit Prince which his high school French teacher had given to him. Not only a lovely story, but I was honored to be given a book with such a story behind it.

My dad gave me a book of muffin recipes for my 4th birthday so I could help him bake. I’ve received many other wonderful books over the years, but that is the first one I’d save in case of fire. So many great memories with that book in the kitchen. This group from Chronicle Books look like so much fun, especially that map art book!

What’s the best book I have ever received as a gift?- I would have to say A Year in Chocolate by Jacques Torres after making the famed chocolate chip cookies from the New York Times for my former coworker.

The Giving Tree was one of my favorite books I received as a gift. it was when I was younger and I was always so proud of myself because to me at the time it seemed like such a long book and I was able to read the whole thing by myself. that book teaches such good life lessons!!

This is a really tough one as I adore all my books so I’ll go with a fairly recent gift of Design Sponge At Home. The best cookbook gift was the Austin Junior League’s cookbook. Many of my all-time favorite holiday recipes come from it.
This is an amazing event and your selection of give-away books are sure to make the winner a very happy person!

The original Tartine cookbook was given to me years ago. I have since given it as a gift and made many a treat for friends and family from those pages. Every time I use it I think of my dear friend and the times we actually waited in line at Tartine to eat their delicious pastries.

The best book I’ve ever received as a gift was a copy of Antoine De Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince on my 13th birthday. The book was given to me by my favorite aunt who in the first page left this note, “Kelsey, I love this story! See page 63 and remember Grandpa. We had that verse read at his services!” The verse goes, “Ones sees clearly only with the heart, everything else is invisible to the eyes.” Still gives me goosebumps every time I read it!!

I’m a huge book lover so this question is almost impossible to answer! As a kid, I loved receiving the Goosebump books from my parents. As an adult – I was giddy when my boyfriend gifted me a huge set of vintage Agatha Christie paperbacks!

I loooooove books! You can never have too many (especially design books!) and I agree that they make great gifts. My husband actually gave me Holly’s first book, Decorate, and I still flip through it regularly. I’m trying to remember from when I was younger…I know my mom gave me all of the Anne of Green Gables books and I LOVED those. So maybe that was my favorite!

I gift myself books all the time! But I would have to say that the best book that anyone ever gave to me was “A Light in the Attic” by Shel Silverstein. My mother gave that to me when I was a little girl and read me the stories within it. I still have that hard cover book and look forward to reading it my future kids someday :)

How can you choose just one?! I have received very old copies of my two favorite stories, Les Miserables and Charles Portis’ True Grit. One of my favorite picture books though, is Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam A Photographic Journey by Florian Schulz. My husband and I both love to hike, and we sat around looking at the beautiful places in this book for hours when we first liked each other :)

i wish more people gave books as gifts. mine would probably be a bible that my mom got me when i was young. i know, i know. everyone gets one of those. but the one she gave me was bound with this beautiful white leather with gold foiling on the cover and page edges. i just know it’s one of those things that i’ll never get rid of. also, any book i’ve received about weddings is special to me because it’s obviously from a person that understands my passion of wedding design :)

I love getting and giving books as presents! They are really the best gift to share with someone. But the best book gift I ever received was “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris on my second date with my now husband. Everything about the gift, the way he wrapped it, and that time period in my life still makes me flutter. :)

My father, an avid baker and cook, gifted me an annotated copy of The Joy of Cooking when I moved into my first grown-up house. His notes are incredible – change this, add this, this step is out of order, etc. He annotated everything from paella to chocolate cake.

I would love to win the prize package as an avid cook and lover of all things beautiful.

Last year my husband gave me The Gorgeous Nothings, which is a photography book exhibiting the poetry Emily Dickinson scribbled on envelopes and other scraps of paper. It’s really beautiful, and I highly recommend it!

The best book I have received as a gift was from my best friend for my birthday one year. This book was done by one of my favorite artist Camille Rose Garcia and was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland which she did the graphics for. This book which was signed by the artist was supposed to be given to me from someone else who I am no longer friends with and she decided out of spite to sell the book on Ebay and notified everyone through Facebook. My new best friend knew how much I wanted this book and secretly bought the book and even more special went to ALL my great friends/family and had them sign with messages for my birthday . It was the most special gift I have ever received!

What fun I have had, perusing these comments! I have looked up at least 15 books, and added several to my “to read” list. As for me, my favorite book received as a gift was “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam”. Not only was the poetry exquisite,but the edition was so beautifully illustrated! My grandmother really knew me well…

The best book that I’ve received has got to be the one that I remember most from childhood.. “Richard Scarry’s The Gingerbread Man” I don’t know what that says about me (especially after flipping through it recently and realizing how weird and creepy it is), but I loved it!

I got “The River Cottage Family Cookbook” from a friend for my birthday and I was SOOO happy! Mostly because it was something I wanted and my friends took the time to find out and also be so generous in getting it for me. Giving books is da best.

I rarely ever receive books as gifts (although it seems that’s what I almost always give to others!), but my husband gave me Small Plates, Sweet Treats by Aran Goyaoga for Christmas, and I’ve so enjoyed cooking with it! Cookbooks are definitely one of the best gifts ever!

One of the very best gifts I’ve ever been given, period, is the novel Madame Bovary. A dear friend in college picked it up for me on a whim, he just thought it was *me* and how right he was! I still treasure it, and books in general. A house is not a home without being filled with books.

Love your blog, your eye, style, and the ideas and causes you support Victoria. Wishing you a beautiful holiday season.

Such a wonderful giveaway!!! I think that one of the best books I ever received was Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree.” It has remained a lifelong favorite, and I love to give it as a gift now, as well!

a few years back, a copy of domino (the book) randomly showed up in the mail. i was so surprised, until my mom asked me if i got it. turns out my dad had bought it for me, even though i hadn’t even told him i wanted it and it wasn’t a holiday! definitely one of the best book gifts.

Books are my very favorite gifts. I’ve received some beautiful ones over the years but I think my most treasured one is a book my grandfather gave me years ago on African Myths and Legends that he knew I loved.

The best book that I have ever received was a photography book that was given to me by my boyfriend at the time. We were young, and it was far more than he could afford at the time–but he surprised me with it after i was accepted into photography school.

I read literature only for school and was simply addicted to Sweet Valley High outside of school. Then I was gifted The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison as a hook to let me put down my favorite and it worked. I have never looked back,
Love your blog

Now that I have kids of my own my sister tracked down a new copy of the cookbook her and I used to cook out of when we were children, called Alpha Bakery Children’s Cookbook. I found that so thoughtful of her to even remember a detail like that!

My favorite gift book was one I bought for my daughter- an autographed copy of The Keeping Quilt,” by Patricia Polacco. It’s a meaningful story about handing down family history and belongings from generation to generation. It’s beautifully written and illustrated.

after reading about 150 books a year, and after many, many years, the best book i received as a gift (in h.s.) was AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY/theodore dreiser —-and that started my addiction.
thanks for this opportunity.

I love books but in doing this I realize I don’t get books as gifts much. One of my favorites, given to me by a student who was in the dorms the year I was a resident advisor in the college, has to be “The Making of the Wizard of Oz,” by Aljean Harmertz. I love the movie and loved reading about the making of it.

I love books but in doing this I realized I haven’t gotten many as gifts. One of my favorites, given to me by a student in the dorms when I was a resident advisor in the dorms in college, has to be “The Making of the Wizard of Oz,” by Aljean Harmetz.

Thanks for this inspiration and contest! The fav book I ever received as a gift was a picture book of the city I had lived in, but was leaving for a new career opportunity. Later in my career someone else gave me a picture book from another city as I prepared to leave. It is the absolute best way to memorialize your time there.

I don’t receive many books as gifts because I tend to buy them for myself. I’m 5’9 with very sensitive feet, so stilettos are out; my hair is three inches long and wildly curly, which makes it incredibly easy to dye at home; and I’ve had the same backpack in the shape of an owl – Julio (whooooolio) – that I just can’t seem to part with, ergo no need for more purses. So books it is! However, every once in a while someone manages to surprise me; a few years ago my husband purchased me a gorgeous hardcover copy of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, which is my favorite book ever written.

When I saw the books in this giveaway I gasped out loud. This is my favorite give a way ever with a blog,. I am such a book lover and adore décor and cookbooks. What a great grouping you choose! I am an avid reader and was reading poetry when most kids were still reading green eggs and ham. My Uncle gave me the most timeless beautiful “Collection of Robert Frost Poetry”. It is my most treasured gift book to date and I refer to it when I need confidence as Robert Frost had confidence and a way of expressing himself that speaks to me, I also was given a classic San Francisco ladies league cookbook that is my all time favorite next to my Moms 1940 copy of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook that I use all the time,. Thank you for this amazing opportunity,.

When I turned 30, I jokingly told my sis all I wanted for my b-day was my youth back. She awesomely went to our parents house and selected a bunch of my childhood favorites, books like The Snowy Day, movies, random artwork and things my parents had kept, and mailed them off to me. I felt heard and loved in the best way possible! Now I love sharing my childhood favorite books with my daughter.

One of the few things my late mother and I shared was a love of reading. When I was a little girl (5th-6th grade)I read “Gone With the Wind” dozens of times. One of my most cherished gifts is a hardcover copy of “Gone With the Wind” that my mother gave me one Christmas. It warms my heart when I think of her taking to time to select a present that she knew I would love as I was a very quiet, introverted, ungracious child. I hope she knows now how cherished that gift (and all others) are to me now.

the best book I ever received as a gift is a little paperback called Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers. I was unfamiliar with the concept, and it stuck with me and has led me to re-evaluate how disposable so many things are in modern society and embrace the beauty and imperfection of hand-craftsmanship.

I don’t remember exactly when that happened, I think I was 8 or 9 years old, and my mother gave me for Christmas all the books that were missing to finish my favorite book’s collections, that I loved at the time. I received a box of books. It was the best gift ever!

When I was little, my dad used to read me greek mythology from this gorgeous, Maxfield Parrish-plated edition of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s collection. It had never been read, and he used a pocketknife to slice open each double page. Maybe it’s horrifying that he did that, but I always loved that he was more interested in the content of the book than the book as a precious object. My first year of college, he gave it to me as a christmas present, so that I could have a piece of childhood into adulthood.

I love the art journals by Sabrina Ward Harrison. They’re so personal and so colorful, and often give voice to things deep in my heart I’ve never been able to articulate. You should check them out!! :o)

My husband gets me books all the time. But my favorite is Photography & the art of seeing by Freeman Patterson, which was signed by Patterson himself. My husband found the book at a thrift store.
Awesome giveaway.

SO many books I love, but one that comes to mind right now is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Veg cookbook. It’s not only beautiful, but every single recipe is BANG ON and delicious. Got it for my birthday this year and will likely buy it for many others.

The best book that I received as a gift was The Bluest Eyes. This also happens to be one of my all time favorites. Looking forward to cuddling up with a good book, and hot chocolate in front of the fireplace. Best thing ever during the long cold winter in frosty Minnesota

A copy of Pedro Almodovar’s stories from my friend’s personal library, with an inscription inside, as a college graduation/going away present. Or the book from my husband “All the Ways I Love You” on my 32nd birthday when I was pregnant with our son, to read to him when he was born.

I’ve been given so many lovely books as gifts! Some that standout – a Sabuda pop-up dinosaurs book (from my love), a vintage Wellesley cookbook (my alma mater), a collection of Robert Creeley poetry from my best friend. (Some of my favorite books though are books that I’ve generously given to myself – my favorite treat!)

I walked through Powells bookstore a few years ago and the Tartine cookbook was on the display shelf along the aisle towards the kids books–I picked it up thinking it would be a quik flip through between Dora and curious George books….but I ended up leaving with it and it’s one of our few books but it’s a favourite go to book when my kids want to break out of out daily food routine!! ❤️ Cook books!

hmm…books are my favorite present. I was homeschooled and at the beginning of each school year my siblings and I each got to pick a brand new book, and it’s been a Christmas tradition to give a book and new pajamas on Christmas Eve. I think the absolute best book I received as a gift was Charlotte’s Web from my Grandma, who loved it and gave it to everyone :)

The best book I’ve ever received, in my life, was actually a loaned book from a friend of mine in high school named Gwen. Gwen was two grades ahead of me and loaned me a book with a pretty controversial title by an author named Inga Muscio. It was a book about feminism. The first book about feminism I had ever read. It was so engrossing and enriching; it only took me like, two days to read it and ever since then I’ve been a changed woman. I’ve loaned my copy to countless other women and friends and it makes my heart smile to hear that they enjoyed it or want to pass it down to other women in their family as well. The impression that books can leave on us is truly astounding. I don’t know where I would be without that book.

I love books! However my favorite book given as a gift was when
I was in elementary school, I got the Berenstein Bears And The Messy Room.
Brother and sister bears room was a crazy disaster. Their mom got fed up and started throwing stuff away…a long story short, with a lot of work a carpenter for a dad, their tree house bedroom became crazy cool, and organized and I just loved it!

I’m late for the giveaway. Anyway, the best book I received as present if Jerusalem by Ottolenghi. It really made me discover a city. It’s the best present of recent years. My first great present was Little Women.

Oooo, great question! I’m quite a book nerd, so I get lots of books as presents. Last year I got Ottolenghi the cookbook under the Christmas tree and I love it and am so inspired by it! Probably the best ever was the complete works of Shakespeare with onion thin paper. I cherish it.

I’ve been lucky enough to receive some really beautiful books as gifts. Ones that come to mind are Bob Marley’s autobiography, NPR: a history, and a beautiful loved copy of Alice in wonderland. Happy holidays all!

Thanks for providing this awesome giveaway! The best book you’ve ever received as a gift is A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. This book really challenged me to be aware of myself and the world. I would really recommend it!

When I turned 8, my parents gave me a box set of the “Anne of Green Gables” books. More recently, my husband changed my cooking life while we were dating by giving me Molly Stevens’ “All About Braising.”